Page 22 - IB April 2023

Health

recruitment from countries with critical health workforce
shortages.
While Pacific countries have raised concerns over the
working conditions and social impacts of labour migrants and
seasonal workers to Australia and New Zealand in other sec-
tors, the impact on the region’s health sectors has not figured
as prominently or publicly.
Some nurses are leaving to work in Australia’s aged care
sector. Employment Minister, Agni Deo Singh recently visited
Fijian aged-care workers (not all of them nurses) in Goulburn
and Canberra, including some working for HealthX, the larg-
est employer in the sector. The company employs 282 Fijians
across Australia, and their representatives regularly visit Fiji
to talk to training institutions, government and potential
recruits.
Last September, HealthX CEO, Carollyne Palling said,
“HealthX has been looking at ways to increase the number of
Pacific aged-care graduates under the PALM scheme and has
worked with APTC [Australia Pacific Training Coalition] on the
aged-care pilot (Aged Care Plus).
“We also sincerely acknowledge the ongoing work of APTC
to train aged-care graduates, however, we believe a solution President of the Fiji Nursing Association, Dr Alisi Vudiniabola
of scale is required to meet the workforce demands of aged-
care in Australia and to support the aim of the Pacific labour promote staff qualification and retention,” the SPC observes.
mobility.” Papers to the Heads of Health meeting also suggest regional
Palling’s comments reflect the reality that there are still in- regulation of training institutes, and standardisation of cur-
sufficient aged care workers to meet the demand in Australia. ricular to ensure quality training is delivered.
Earlier this month, Wesley Mission announced it was closing Ensuring nurses have senior leadership roles is also key to
its three remaining aged care centres in Sydney due to staff- retention.
ing issues. Heads of Health have been urged to “recognise and support
New government regulations, which require the presence nursing leadership, ensuring they are included in the execu-
of registered nurses 24/7 at centres, are contributing to tive leadership team of each country’s health system, with
workforce pressures there, with Australia’s Aged Care Minis- appropriate remuneration and authority.”
ter, Anika Wells telling Australian media that 5% of providers Despite the immense pressures that COVID-19 placed on
would not be able to meet the requirement. health systems worldwide, initiatives that gained momentum
during the pandemic such as digital health and telemedicine,
Recruitment and training remote monitoring for chronic conditions, enhanced contract
In Fiji last November, the Ministry of Health hired 206 tracing applications, and optimisation of service delivery, are
nurses, with more to be recruited next month (May) and gains that Pacific health services should build upon.
in November this year. The health ministry also intends to Ultimately however, the entreaties of nurses, their unions
establish 50 new nursing assistants, and 50 new nursing aid and other experts in the sector to stem the outward flow of
positions. The retirement age for nurses has been raised to nurses (and other health professionals) are futile if there is no
60 (consistent with other civil service positions), and Health action to back the rhetoric supporting change.
Minister, Dr Lalabalavu assured delegates to the recent Fiji “One of our very senior nurses collapsed and died last year
Nursing Association AGM that the government will work to in the recovery ward,” Dr Vudiniabola recalls. “She was the
improve staff living and working conditions. former manager of the operating theatre. We found out that
Regionally, the nursing shortage is exacerbated by weak hu- she had been working right through the weekend and got sick
man resources departments in ministries of health, that lack on Monday, so she rested in her office. And this is because of
dedicated, trained HR staff and have little authority to take the shortage of nurses. It was the last place for her to col-
strategic decisions, says the SPC. lapse and die. It’s like dying of hunger in a restaurant.”
A lack of robust and detailed health workforce data is also Clearly, a shift in the remuneration, conditions and pros-
a problem, with data collection often slow and fragmented pects for these health professionals is a matter of life and
amongst different stakeholders and government departments. death, not only for patients, but also for the nurses who care
“There is a need for evidence-based, coherent and trans- for them.
parent pathways and policies that enable healthcare workers
to move between the various levels of work and education to editor@islandsbusiness.com

22 Islands Business, April 2023